Paul Roux

06Jan2015

The name of the town comes from an unusual source. The residents could not decide on a name for the town so they decided to write two names on a rock which was rolled down a hill. The name that was displayed at the end of the boulders journey would be the name. The boulder thus landed face-up with Paul Roux, and this was the establishment of the town in 1909.

The region, falling in the Free State Province is well known for game farms where the primary source of income is maize farming with cattle and sheep being secondary.

Many of the houses dating back to the 1800’s have been restored and depict the architecture which was mostly Cape Dutch and Colonial.

The town was a stage coach stop off where horses and coachmen were exchanged for the journey between Harrismith and Winburg being roughly halfway between these two major towns.

The closeby town of Biddulpsberg is an important archeological site as there are dinosaur footprints which have been preserved in hardened clay, giving more proof that these giants did roam the entire earth.

Some of the buildings dating back to the early years of Paul Roux are still in service and others have been restored and preserved. Most of these heritage buildings are constructed from sand stone, displaying the recognizable architecture of the period.

Service delivery has seemed to miss the town and many of the roads are still not tarred, which in a way adds to the uniqueness of country living in the Free State.

The Paul Roux School was built in 1912 and had 52 pupils. Today the school serves 580 learners